Economic hard times

The economic debacle in which the U.S. “suddenly” finds itself is the result of the largest migration of wealth since the depression. This has been the long-term goal of many within our government via lobbyists’ cash.

And now they wonder why no one is buying homes, cars, appliances, etc.

The answer is that they got rid of the middle class, which is the backbone of all countries.

They wanted tax breaks for outsourced U.S. jobs and those remaining to be part-time with no benefits: no medical, no pension and certainly no unions.

It has become a slave ship and the extremely wealthy enriched themselves beyond their dreams. We are seeing what “trickle down economics” is really like.

Congrats, your agenda is now bearing its fruit and is rotten to the core.

And for those who are white-collar workers and thought themselves totally immune, welcome to the new world order. Who will you manage now with your office or factory overseas or closed?

— Bruce Richards, Sammamish

Won’t last forever

Paul Krugman, the major media and most financial analysts do not recognize the problem that has caused our current economic downturn [“Coping with a lame-duck economy: Can we afford two months of policy drift?” syndicated column, Nov. 21]. That problem has been unjustified debt. This has been manifested by the government, financial entities that have profited by the unjustified indebtedness of our citizens, who cannot support their home mortgages, cannot pay off their credit card or student-loan debt and — in the case of small businesses – cannot pay off their loans.

This harsh correction has been long overdue. Bailouts only prolong the inevitable economic collapse by encouraging those who misbehave financially to continue to misbehave financially.

The best economic stimulus that President-elect Barack Obama could propose is for our government to act as a responsible role model for a change. The support of the current situation by well-managed companies and responsibly behaving, hardworking citizens cannot last forever.

— Bob Dorse, Seattle

Time for a complete overhaul

We have it in our power to change everything, if we can change ourselves. The United States is where the greatest minds wish to be born, for Americans see a new world where others see catastrophe.

Don’t bail out corporations. Who needs them? Think outside the boxes of capitalism and socialism. Create something fresh: a synergy of federal government and local entrepreneurs.

We should own our health care, education, energy and transportation, administered by elected representatives in government, while subcontracting the work to privately owned local businesses, green and sustainable.

Who needs cars? Replace them with high-speed public cabs on solar-powered rail lines. Dial one on your blackberry; within minutes it stops near your home. Tell its computer your destination, then sit back and watch a movie.

Don’t be anxious about medical bills and prescriptions. Replace them with health. Use preventive self care such as meditation, exercise, nutrition, music, laughter and clean air to cure diseases before they arise.

Because we fear death, the highest medical expense is end-of-life care. But as spiritual beings, we can die gracefully in low-cost hospices run by volunteers.

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